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The Church
"Churches still hold services, London still has its bishops, the Traitor Empress is still the head of the Church of England. Theology has become more flexible, of course. People are more polite about Hell. A few of the saints seem to have had a change of name." The Anglican Church still survives in London. It just has to be more delicate about devils, because after all, it's now among devils...__forcetoc__ The Good Book Despite London's rather inconvenient relocation, the Church still has a strong grip on the theology of the city. However, possibly due to Hell's close proximity to London, it is considered insensitive to use so-called "curse words", even more so than on the Surface. While the churches themselves are still considered places of virtue and charity (like on the Surface), they are also home to various forms of villainy (also like on the Surface). For example, St. Dunstan's church is rumored to be a base of operations for spirifers. The presence of devils combined with the elusiveness of death means that the Church had to make quite a few changes to the Bible. These changes are overseen by Saint Cyriac's Illuminated College, more commonly known as God's Editors. They often edit the Good Book to reflect recent events, but they may have certain knowledge regarding a passage of St. Matthew... The Saints of the Church *'St. John the Baptist' *'St. Matthew' *'St. George' *'St. Joshua' - patron of spies *'St. Fiacre' - patron of medicine and gardeners *'St. Cyriac' - patron of learning (this is a definite attribute change) *'St. Dunstan' - patron of smiths of every kind, as well as musicians *'St. Meliflua' - patron of anarchists and devils (ahistorical; I find it rather amusing that the patron saint of devils has a name having to do with honey...) *'Saints Gertrude de Nivelles', Stephen-in-the-River, Aegidius, Simeon, Giles, Nathanael, Vincent of Saragossa, Guthlac, Leonard, Cyril, Agafa, Sebastian, Brillifage, Ulrich, Erasmus, and Cadfael 'all are mentioned in events. Some are real, while others are fictional. Some Intriguing Snippets ''"Here beneath the earth, we drink dust, we dine with bones. Our mouths are stuffed with herbs. What uncoils in our hearts?" - Proverbs 41:3 "When you lie down, your name is forgotten. In the absence of names, yea, your sleep shall be sweet." - Proverbs 3:24 "The waters were gathered together, the floods slept in the Sun's blindness, and the depths rose like the Moon, in the light at the edge of the sea." - Exodus 15:8 "For I was hungry, and I ate you. I was thirsty, and I drank you" - ALL:SHALL "I was hungry, and you gave me only the pelt of trees. I was thirsty and you gave me only ink." - BE:WELL ''- Credit to SpaceMarine9'' Notable Clergymen Fledgling Londoners may come in contact with '''the Loquacious Vicar, an overly enthusiastic but rather sharp fellow who seeks knowledge about the Soul Trade. He wishes to publish research regarding such matters, and he'll include you in his dedications if you help him. The Bishop of Southwark "He hammers on your door. "Hurry up in there! It's all pagans and turnips out here! And it's cold."" The Bishop of Southwark is a wrestler and former cavalryman who hopes to lead a new invasion of Hell (even though the Campaign of '68 failed disastrously). They say his miter is made of iron. Despite his boisterousness, he is highly dedicated towards the cause of the Church, though he's also very overzealous when dealing with nonbelievers and pagans. Naturally for someone as daring as he, the Bishop can often be found roaming the Flit and other criminal dens. It's rumored that he may possess the very teeth of St George; in his words: "Anyone who labours in holy service to England is St George, as far as I'm concerned." It turns out that he's responsible for the death of his squadmates during the invasion of Hell. More or less, he literally stopped to smell the roses; he still has the scars from his immortal mistake. Perhaps this is the reason for his zealotry. He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of London in 1894. The Bishop of St. Fiacre's "a Snuffer is not a pleasant existence. Take it from me. Oh, it might seem very carefree, prowling London, pulling the faces off anyone you fancy. But changing one's habits from week to week? Endlessly leaping out of windows to avoid the Constables? And the only place to find wax, here, is in candles. Candles are tasty enough, but it is terribly easy to nibble one's way through one's last candle, and find oneself devoid of lighting material. The nights grow long." The Bishop of St. Fiacre's is a Snuffer. He's more benign than other Snuffers, only taking faces from the dead and the willing, but like the rest of his kind, he's looking for the secrets of the Mountain of Light. He is also one of the players of the card game called the Marvellous, and he is also a noted member of the Dilmun Club. The Bishop wishes to become something other than a Snuffer, so as a result, he has some interest in the Prison of Flint. His sister is the Woman in Yellow. The Bishop considers the term "snuffer" to be offensive; he prefers "Cousin". 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